Rep. Corrine Brown: “this past weekend marked the much anticipated opening of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. This…”

“this past weekend marked the much anticipated opening of the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. This beautiful monument honoring our Nation's women veterans tells an important story of the place of women in the service and protection of our country. I am so proud that so many women from Florida turned out for this big opening. I want to commend Sheila Chamberlain and the Women Veterans Organization for making this happen. I want to take a moment to briefly highlight the role of women in this Nation's conflicts. We all witnessed the spectacular events in the Persian Gulf war where more than 40,000 women made significant contributions. However, women have served this country in all of its conflicts dating back to the Revolutionary War. Women were hired in early wars as cooks, seamstresses, scouts, and couriers. Doctor Mary Walker, an Army physician who served during the Civil War, was the first and only woman awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. The first Army and Navy nurses corps was established during the Spanish-American War after a typhoid fever emergency forced the Army to recruit 1,500 women. Women were first recruited as members of the Armed Services in World War I, serving in roles ranging from nurses to telephone operators to clerks. More than 350,000 women served in World War II, including the first female officers. More than 200 military women died in action overseas during the Second World War.”